


Happy Birthday Bobby

by christina100



Category: Emmerdale
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-22
Updated: 2018-04-22
Packaged: 2019-04-26 10:45:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 936
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14400498
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/christina100/pseuds/christina100
Summary: On his 32nd birthday, Robert visits his mother Pat's grave.





	Happy Birthday Bobby

PATRICIA SUGDEN

Died August 26th 1986

_My pulse like a soft drum_

_Beats my approach_

_Tells thee I come:_

_And slow how’er my marches be_

_I shall at last sit down by thee._

 

The date of death was glaringly obvious. Aaron once again felt his entire heart constrict with love and sorrow for the man stood before him.

Robert eyed the grave. “It doesn’t say she was my mother. Me and my siblings, we’re not even on here.” He said, his voice hollow. “Maybe that’s just as well…”

Robert placed his signature red rose upon the dry earth, letting his fingers brush upon the cracked granite.

It had begun with the skype call from his grandmother. She’d rung to wish her darling grandson a happy birthday. With Robert sat pride of place, balancing Seb on his lap and with Aaron, Victoria and Diane all clustered around the screen, Annie launched into the longest anecdote about Robert’s birth. She rattled off names, times, special moments.

Robert started off laughing. But by the end he wanted to weep.

Most of the people who bore witness to his birth were all living far away… or lying under the cold, dark earth.

So he had to come here. He had to see the one person who was responsible for him being here, alive and well.

“Why don’t you ever talk about your Mum?” Aaron asked, keeping his tone careful. He knew Robert clammed up whenever his past was mentioned and Aaron never pushed him.

He never pushed him because he got it. Aaron was just the same.

“Too painful to think about I guess.” Robert sighed, lifting his face to the sky, allowing the warm sunshine to bless his face. He liked to think his mother was up there, smiling down on him. “Don’t get me wrong, I loved Sarah with all my heart. But… you know…”

“I know.” Aaron said softly, placing his hand on the small of Robert’s back and rubbing it.

Robert’s fingers dug into his palms, the fingernails indenting half-moon crecsents into his skin. He thought about the kind of woman his mother Pat was. His grandmother had said she was kind yet sarcastic. That made him chuckle. She told him that she determined not to be a housewife and became involved in the farm, knee deep in mud and muck from first light to twilight.

Then Annie told him how delighted Pat was when they found out she was pregnant with him. And how Robert’s birth was a mark of the good things in their future.

Oh if only they knew.

“Do you think I’m cursed?” The words fell from Robert’s lips.

Aaron’s mouth dropped at the sudden outburst. “What? No! God, no! Why would you think that?”

Robert shrugged. “As soon as I was born, she died - ”

“That’s not your fault!” Aaron said, desperation rife in his voice. He grabbed Robert’s arm. “Rob look at me.”

Robert bit down on his lip, keeping the tears at bay. He looked into Aaron’s cerulean blue eyes. Eyes that were glistening with love. For him.

“You’re not a curse. You’re a blessing! Not just to your family. But to me an’ all. And your Mum.” He gestured to the silent grave, “She’d be so proud of you. Of the man you’ve become. Of the father you’ve become.”

“I wish I knew her.” Robert muttered.

Aaron pulled Robert into a tight embrace, because sometimes words just weren’t enough. Aaron wanted to Robert to have the perfect birthday. He knew Robert was trying to be strong for him, for Liv, for Seb, all the while trying to fend off Joe Tate and anyone else trying to do them harm. Today, just today, he deserved to let go and think of himself.

And Aaron would do his damnest to make sure it happened!

But as he held Robert in his arms, the two of them standing in the lonely cemetery, he knew this was an issue that ran deeper, seeping into his blood, his bones. This was a part of Robert that had sat on his shoulders for thirty-two years.

Aaron kissed Robert’s cheek. A mark of his love. “Come on. Seb’s waiting for us at the pub. And we’ve got your birthday dinner to get to!”

Robert groaned, “Yeah the infamous Sugden family dinner. Don’t suppose we can get out of it.”

Aaron chuckled, “Diane and Vic will kill us! Look, I promise it’ll go well.”

“Reckon you and Bernice will be able to keep it civil?” Robert asked, raising his brow.

Aaron released a low breath. “I’ll bite my tongue. For you.”

And he meant it. He knew it wasn’t easy for Robert to play piggy in the middle between them. Despite everything, Bernice was Robert step-sister and his family. Aaron had a lot of issues with the woman – a lot of them stemming from the fact that she’d told Robert he didn’t love him anymore! The very audacity made his blood sizzle with rage. But he wanted to keep it civil for Robert’s sake. It was his birthday and he wasn’t going to cause a fuss.

Tomorrow however. Anything goes.

Robert slipped his hand into Aaron’s. “Thanks for coming with me here.”

“We’re in this together aren’t we?” Aaron kissed Robert’s hand, closing his eyes to savour the moment. God, he missed this.

Before they walked away, Aaron’s eyes drifted to Pat Sugden’s gravestone. This woman had brought his soulmate into the world. He had a lot of respect for her.

He bowed his head in gratitude and let Robert lead him back to their home.


End file.
